the journey to becoming me

Archive for the category “social justice”

Growing up, I always knew who the good guys were. The good guys were the cops. They protected me and others. Little by little, I would see on t.v. shows that cops would take some… liberties but it was okay, because they were on the good side. It was okay, because the end justified the mean. It was okay because they were right all along. Has life begun to imitate art? Is it now acceptable to take away someone’s liberties- their life- simply because the cop is supposed to be the good guy?

I’m not saying there aren’t good officers out there, who do the right thing day in and day out, who put their lives on the line. What I am saying though, is I believe that police culture has shifted.

I am not only sickened by what has been happening, but also sickened by what has not been happening. I doubt I need to regale you with the details surrounding Michael Brown, or Eric Garner, or Tamir Rice, or…
So we know what has been happening.
What hasn’t been happening is accountability. What hasn’t been happening is protection. What hasn’t been happening is justice.

The system isn’t failing. The system is working just as it was designed to – to oppress. Race, gender, class, age, religion, sexual orientation, ability… just some cogs in the oppression gears.

It isn’t just police forces. It isn’t just grand juries. It’s us. We are… I am… a part of it. I have decided to switch sides. I’m tired of sitting on my privilege. It’s time to make a change, a personal change, an institutional change, a systemic change. I hope you join me.